Roller keel boat trailer



Feb. 19, 1952 E F, SCHROEDER 2,586,485

Y ROLLER KEEL BOAT TRAILER Filed Aug. 5, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l *n INVENTOR. [06f/V F SOL//QU'Q ATTE! RN EYE Feb- 19, 1952 E. F. scHRoEDl-:R

ROLLER KEEL BOAT TRAILER Filled Aug. 5, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ATTE! R N EYS Patented Feb. 19, 1952 STAT Es cre-rea ROLLER KEEL BOATTRAILER EugenefF. Schroeder, Lakeviewi Iowa#V Applicati'omAugust- 3, 1949; SerialzNo. 108,376

3:(3'laims.v (Cl. 214-65) l1A 'I-Tsinventionrelatesf to.. trailers for carrying smalli boatsrsuch as row boats; outboard" motor Boats" and the0^ like, and' infparticular al trailer having rollers ad'jfustaloly7 mounted thereinwhere# bylthe boat# is supportedv on'A the rollers as'Y it isv being' loaded'upon or' unloaded from thef trailer andwherein the rollersdrop to positions clear; of theboat with the boatA resting" upon a centrally-A disposed beamandpadded holsters. for traveling.r

The. purpose of' thisv inventionV is to facilitate loading andi unloading small boats; upon and -fronra trailer so thata-boatfmay lbe loaded' upon or'removed` from a trailer by one man.

In the usual type of boat carrying trailer it isf necessary to slide-a boat endwise upon the frame or chassis of' the trailer or pick the boat up= and placeit uponthe trailer ybut asthevaverage; boat that is carried to and from shingstreamsor lakes is made of comparativelyl light weight material 'itis objectionable to: scrape the-beam or lower vedge of the lreelonr the frame ofthe trailer and'with theftrailer attached to a motor'velfncler itfis'diiiicult tov elevate a boatsuificiently to place it'fupon the trailer without scrapingl the'keel or lower'surf'ace. With` this thought in mind"y this invention:v contemplates a trailer in which dis-V appearing'v rollersA are provided atv points of"l contactfthereinso that when. a .boaty isV beingplaced upon'or Aremoved from; the trailer the'rollersf are :j

elevated to suspend the.l boat aboveall: stationaryv parts of thestrailer.'

The object of' this inventionv is, therefore, to provide: means for constructing'atraileri for boats andv thelike wherein rollers areelevatedfor'suspendingja. boat above stationary partsvof the: trailer. as a boatis being removed from orv placed upon the trailer and in which; the. rollers are dropped. to positions. 'within the trailerxbody' when the.- boat, is in.' traveling: position. thereon.

Another object' of: thef invention is to provide a boatl trailer having disappearing rollers incorporated in. the upper surface. inwhich means is,v provided for positively clamping: a boat against rigid-V elementsL of the trailer' when the boat isY in` the'carryin'g position.

Another object of the invention. is. to provide a. boat carrying; trailer. having disappearing rollers therein positioned to engage the boat, in which the partsarefreadily4 actuated by one man..

A further object of the invention is` to vprovide ahoat carryingftrailer yhaving disappearinggrollers therein with means forrclamping, the. boat. to the tranen. which; oi a. companati'vely.y simple-and: economical` `c onstructiom With these:y and, other' Vohiects and'. advantagesl in.' View the invention. embodies" a! sul@stantiallvg horizontally' disposed"` 1'chassis .havmgffas vcentrally.f disposedf keel'.A receiving bean-r withl holsters-.at thet sides; a windlassfand aturnbuckle actuated'hook; at the forwardv end.l and lhaving rollers.' incorpo ratediin the surfacelzwith': means: fractuatingf' the rollers to4 positions for?. suspending af. boat` above the chassisiof'the-eitrailer-fto.facilitator-load@ ing and unloadingthe boat..

Other features' and; advantages of f'thezimzenl tion! will.' appear fronr the followingrdescription taken in connection: With'iftheli drawingsf wherein:

Figure 1 isa viewshowing aszsidefelevatiom of' they .trailer illustratingra boat' being? loadedv upon: the trailer' with the: boatfsuspendedby -therollers and `almost in the: carry-ing;Y positionoxrthe; trailer:

Figure 2 is a similar View` withcpartefoizthe: boat` broken away showingf.. thefy rollers. dropped: and the boat in: the.'r position if'or 'trafvelingfI boat removed;

Figure 4' is crossv section throughtlieirear'part of the trailer taken on line 4-4f:of.'r1'igure r12. and;

showingithe:clampmgfmeansfforthe stern offthe boat-L Fi'gu-ree axcrossssection: through thetrailer` taken on; line-w54 of;"Fignrea.2-.f the:

the trailer-'of ftl'i'is: inventionincludeszal centrally-y disposed longitudinally ext'ended; keek-contacting plankfor beam I'llA /rnomitedfv omahchassis.' I? le'y with wheelsztz'fand II34 onv an axles.l maar lrearrlieel; en gaging' roller I a forw rd?keel"engaging;l rollen IIB; siderollersY l 'Iflandl andgsuitablfoperating' instrumen-talitiesxforf the rollersnactuatedby a foot pedali If9- I The roller i 5 isr rotatably" mountedzimthe-fouterr ends of arms-20 andi 2li by'a sliaftfzz and v`thefy arms are carried; vby 21a; shaft123'f`with. a'y 24'.: extended. downwardlyp therefrom a and" pivotal'ly`l attachedto a'f bar'255fby a pinf`26i:l The ^rod-`23fisgf pivotal-Iy mounted in outwardlyeartend'ed-1- 21 and 28 at the rear of thercl-iassis:and;iasrthei` bar 2'5Ifis forced'rearwardly thesrollert5; is'elevatedfta the position shown in Figure 1...

The'bar isalspivotally attaohedto acranlc: 2m that yextends'.downwardlnv Vfrom-Y a; shatt 30 and;

3 the rollers Il' and I8 are carried by the shaft, being rotatably mounted in the outer ends of arms 3I extended outwardly from the shaft. The shaft is provided with extended ends 32 through which it is journaled in side members 33 and 34 of the chassis II, as illustrated in Figure 6.

The bar 25 is pivotaliy attached to the crank 29 by a pin 35 and the forwardly extended end of the bar is attached to a crank 36 of the roller I6 by a pin 31. The roller I6 is rotatably mounted in the outer ends of arms 38 and 39, similar to the arms 21 and 28 and the arms are carried by a rod 40 from which the crank 36 extends. The roller I6 extends upwardly through an opening 4I in the beam Ill, as illustrated in Figures l and 3 and in Figure 1 a portion of the beam I 0 is broken away illustrating the position of the roller with the crank and arms therein.

Shaft 30 is also provided with a foot lever 42, on the lower end of which the pedal I9 is carried and with the foot lever forced downwardly from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure 1 the rollers are actuated to elevated positions shown in Figure 1. A latch 43 is pivot ally mounted on the foot lever 42 by a pin 44 and the outer end of the latch is provided with a notch 45 that is positioned to snap over a pin 46 for locking the foot lever 42 downwardly with the rollers elevated whereby a boat as indicated by the numeral 41 is suspended in an elevated position above the stationary parts of the trailer.

The forward end of the beam ll'l of the chassis II is provided with a windlass 48 which is journaled on a stand 49 and provided with a crank 50, and a cable 5I extends from the windlass and over the trailer so that it may be attached to an eye 52 on the bow of the boat. The end of the cable is provided with a clevis 53 that may be hooked into the eye 52 so that the boat may be drawn upon the trailer by the windlass and after it is in position it may be rigidly secured to the trailer, particularly at the forward end, by the cable and windlass.

The beam I0 is also provided, with a block 54 that may have a cushion surface 55 to receive the keel at the bow of the boat and the bow may also be provided with an eye 56 through which the bow of the boat may be clamped in place by an attachment 51 having a turnbuckle 58 therein and having hooks 59 and 60 at the ends, the hook 60 being held in an eye 6I on the beam I8.

The forward part of the chassis is also provided with a cross beam 62 having bolsters 63 and 64 on the ends thereof and the inner boat contacting surfaces 65 and 66, respectively are padded to prevent marring the sides of the boat.V

A transverse beam is provided at the rear of the trailer and this beam is provided in sections 61 and 68 with a gap 69 between the innerends of the sections through boat passes. The upper surfaces of the sections 61 and 68 are provided with pads 1I and 12, re-

spectively upon which the under surface of the boat is clamped by a beam 13 that rests upon the gunwales and the beam 13 is clamped to the sections 61 and 63 by clamp nuts 14 and 15 on threaded upper ends of rods 16 and 11, respectively, the lower ends of the rods being carried byeyes 18 and 19 on the ends 01EA the sections of the transverse beam.

The forward endof the chassis is provided with a support 88 pivotally. mounted by a pin 8I'in a bracket 82 and the support is provided with anopening 83 that is positioned to register Ehich the keel 10 of thewith openings 84 in the bracket so that the supports may be held in the positions indicated by the dotted lines while traveling. The lower end of the support is provided with a shoe 85 to provide sufcient bearing surface for supporting the forward end of the trailer. The forward end of the trailer is also provided with a clevis 86 by which it may be attached to a motor vehicle or the like.

The axle of the wheels I2 and I3 is attached to the chassis by springs 81, the ends of which are attached to the lower surfaces of the side beams of the chassis by sockets 88 and 89.

With the parts arranged in this manner a boat is readily unloaded from the trailer by backing the trailer into the water with the axle I4 substantially at the surface of the water and with the turnbuckle and beam or bolster 13 released the boat is elevated until it is suspended on the rollers by pressing downwardly on the foot pedal I9 whereby the cable may be slacked down on the winch so that the boat rolls rearwardly into the water, and when it is desired to replace the boat on the trailer the trailer is c0 r respondingly positioned and with the bow of the boat connected to the cable, and with the rollers extended upwardly, the boat is readily drawn upon the trailer by the winch until it arrives at the position illustrated in Figure l, and at this time the latch 43 may be released whereby the weight of the boat actuates the rollers to the downward position and the boat is secured in position by the attachment 51 with the stern being clamped by the bolster 13 and clamp nuts 14 and 15.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a boat carrying trailer, lthe combination which comprises a chassis mounted on wheels, a beam mounted on the chassis and positioned to receive the keel of a boat, bolsters positioned on the chassis for engaging the sides of a boat positioned on the keel, rollers journaled in the ends of arms pivotally mounted in the chassis, a foot pedal journaled on a transversely disposed shaft inthe chassis, a rod extended longitudinally of the chassis, a crank connecting the rod to the foot pedal, cranks connecting the rod to the arms of the rollers for actuating the rollers to elevated positions for suspending a boat above the chassis, a latch for locking the rollers in the elevated positions, said latch adapted to be operated for releasing the rollers, means clamping the boat on the chassis, and means securing the boat on the trailer for traveling.

2. In'a boat carrying trailer, the combination` which comprises a chassis mounted on'wheels', a beam mounted on the chassis' and positioned to receive the keel of a boat, bolsters positioned on the chassis for engaging the sides of a boat positioned on the beam, rollers journaled in the ends of arms pivotally mounted in the chassis. a foot pedal journaled on a transversely disposed shaft in the chassis, a rod extended longitudinally of the chassis, a crank connecting the rod to the foot pedal, cranks connectingr the rod to the arms of the rollers for actuating the rollers to elevated positions for suspending a boat above the chassis, a latch for locking the rollers in the elevated positions, said latch adapted to be operatedfor.` releasing the rollers, and means clamping the boat on the chassis, .a windlasshaving a cable mounted on the forward end of the chassis for drawing a boat on the trailer and over the rollers thereof, and means securing the boat on the trailer for traveling.

3. In a boat carrying trailer, the combination which comprises a chassis mounted on Wheels, a beam mounted on the chassis and positioned to receive the keel of a boat, bolsters positioned on the chassis for engaging the sides of a boat positioned on the beam, disappearing rollers pivotally mounted in the chassis, a foot pedal for actuating the rollers to elevated positions for suspending a boat above the chassis, a latch for locking the rollers in the elevated positions, said latch adapted to be operated for releasing the rollers,- means clamping the boat on the chassis, a windlass having a cable mounted on the forward end of the chassis for drawing a boat on the trailer and over the rollers thereofl an attachment having a turnbuckle therein positioned on the forward end of the chassis for clamping the bow of the boat to the chassis, and a bolster extended across the gunwales of the boat having clamping nuts for holding the bolster down- `wardly with the boat clamped against the chassis REFERENCES CITED The following references are off' record in the l file of this patent: l

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 141,098 Abeel July 22, 1873 559,552 Turner May 5, 1896 1,658,770 Murray et al Feb. 7, 1928 2,116,150 Howie et al. May 3, 1938 2,361,951 Livermon Nov. 7, 1944 2,442,248 Sampsell May 25, 1948 2,448,443 l Krake Aug. 31, 1948 12,496,599 Rivers Feb. 7, 1950 FOREIGN PATEN-Ts Number Country Date 496,549 Great Britain Nov. 28, 1938 

